After hair loss, women find confidence in wigs

Tuesday

Sep 29, 2009 at 12:01 AMSep 29, 2009 at 4:16 PM

More than 20 million American women annually are affected by thinning hair or hair loss, often as a side effect from a medical treatment or prescription drug. Many women seek help at the Paula Young/Especially Yours store, which is at the catalog company’s headquarters in West Bridgewater.

Dina Gerdeman

Bernice Antonucci knew she would lose hair after undergoing chemotherapy treatments for breast cancer in 2004, but the reality of watching her hair fall out was still hard to handle.

“Losing your hair is devastating,” said Antonucci, 69, who lives in Canton. “You look in the mirror and have no hair and you think, ‘I’m not going out again until I have hair.’”

After getting a referral from a doctor, Antonucci went shopping for some honey blond hairpieces, and wearing them made her feel like herself again. “It made a big difference, like night and day psychologically,” Antonucci said.

More than 20 million American women annually are affected by thinning hair or hair loss, often as a side effect from a medical treatment or prescription drug. Many women seek help at the Paula Young/Especially Yours store, which is at the catalog company’s headquarters in West Bridgewater.

The company was established in 1978 and now has more than 2 million customers who order through the catalog or visit the store. The store has access to a huge selection of styles and colors in the company warehouse – about 15,000 wigs, hair pieces, clip-ons and volumizers, including the Style Collection of wigs with highlights and blended colors by actress Jaclyn Smith. The store sells wigs made of synthetic materials as well as ones made with real hair, ranging in price from $29 to $219. The most popular wig by far is the Abby wig, a silver-colored short and feathered style.

The salespeople at the store help a steady stream of customers – mostly women – find the wigs that are right for them, at times providing dozens to try on until women settle on a style.

The saleswomen show customers how to put them on and how to care for them. And sometimes they are also there to provide a listening ear to women who are going through a tough time.

“This one woman who came in (recently) was going through chemotherapy, and she was trembling and crying. We comfort women who feel like that. We put our arms around them,” said Marie Legault, who can relate because she lost her hair for a period 10 years ago after undergoing treatment for breast cancer. “If they want our help and support, we are there to help them. And if they want privacy and want to be left alone, we leave them alone.”

Hair loss, particularly coupled with an illness, can be extremely frightening and upsetting, said saleswoman Donna Francario.

“A lot of people can’t look at themselves in the mirror without crying,” Francario said. “When they brush their hair, it comes out on the brush. We go through a lot of tissues around here. It can be very traumatic for people.”

Many women bring a close friend, a mother or a daughter who can provide both supportive words and honest opinions.

“Sometimes they make the mistake of bringing their husbands,” Legault said. “The men don’t have the patience to wait. And they’ll often tell their wives to go for the red wigs. I don’t know why.”

The saleswomen say they regularly see women who seem transformed emotionally once they find a wig that works. Many women ask to wear the wigs out the door.

Barbara Brown, 76, of Hanover has been wearing wigs for 49 years – ever since a hairdresser coloring her roots forgot to wash the product out in time, leading to burns on Brown’s head and significant hair loss.

“My head was like hamburger on top and my 9-month-old son was pulling my hair out in clumps,” she said.

Brown got hooked on wigs from Paula Young/Especially Yours about 30 years ago and has worn a variety of shades, from blond to brownish-blond and most recently a pure white.

“I get compliments on my hair left and right. People have no idea I’m wearing a wig,” Brown said. “I wear them every day and don’t take them off until I go to bed. They’re a part of me, like my clothes.”

Antonucci has been wearing wigs from the Paula Young/Especially Yours store for the past five years because the medication she has had to take following her cancer diagnosis thins her hair.

She will find out early next year whether she can go off the medication, and if so, whether her hair will come back as it was before.

But even if it does, Antonucci has already decided she isn’t letting all her wigs go.

“I’m keeping at least one wig around just in case I have a bad hair day.”

FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO HAIR LOSS

Most female-pattern baldness is inherited. Other causes of hair loss include:

- Disease. Illnesses such as diabetes, lupus and thyroid.

- Poor nutrition. Having inadequate protein or iron in your diet or poor nourishment in other ways can cause hair loss. Fad diets, crash diets and certain illnesses, such as eating disorders, can cause poor nutrition.

- Medications. Certain drugs used to treat gout, arthritis, depression, heart problems and high blood pressure may cause hair loss in some people. Also, the acne medication Accutane contributes to hair loss. Taking birth control pills also may result in hair loss for some women.

- Recent high fever, severe flu or surgery. You may notice you have less hair three to four months after events such as an illness or surgery. These conditions cause hair to shift rapidly into a resting phase, meaning you’ll see less new hair growth. A normal amount of hair typically will appear after the growth phase resumes.

- Childbirth. Some women experience an increase in hair loss several months after delivering a baby. This is because during pregnancy the hair is shifted into an active growth state that then goes back to base line soon after delivery. This increased hair loss usually corrects itself.

- Hair treatments. Chemicals used for dyeing, tinting, bleaching, straightening or perming can cause hair to become damaged and break off if they are overused or used incorrectly. Excessive hairstyling or hairstyles that pull your hair too tightly also can cause some hair loss.

- Scalp infection. Infections such as ringworm can invade the hair and skin of your scalp, leading to hair loss. Once infections are treated, hair generally regrows. Ringworm, a fungal infection, can usually be treated with a topical or oral antifungal medication.